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lUNSEYS Magazine 



Vol. XLVI 



Decembejr; 1911 



Number 111 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TPiE CITY (3x THE POTOaIAC INTO ONE 

OF TPIE WORLD'S NOBLEST CAPITALS AND FINEST 

RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES 

BY ISAAC F. MARCOSSON 



NO matter from what direction you ap- 
proach Washington, long before you 
reach the city line you see a great 
white dome, surmounted by a bronze iigure, 
outlined against the sky. The most casual 



travelers — even the absorbed honeymooners 
journeying along that familiar heart's high- 
way — know that the mighty cupola is the 
top of the national Capitol. 

But that great dome — so gleaming, proud, 




THE JOHN MARSHALL STATUE AND THE WESTERN ESPLANADE OF THE CAPITOL, WHICH FACES 

TOWARD THE MALL AND THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT 

From a tlioton^nfh l<y Left, Washineton 

2 311 



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MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE 



and serene — does much more than merely 
surmount the stately halls where the nation's 
laws are made. It proclaims a ])atch of 
world beauty with an esthetic distinction all 
its own. Almost without the knowledge of 
the rest of the country — certainly without 
realization by the mass of the people — there 
has risen on the shore cf the Potomac a 



harmonious and civic betterment which i'? 
one of the first and 'foremost factors f' ;'• 
whole uplift. 

THE city's dismal BEGIXXIXG 

Perhaps no other capital of a powerful 
country had so dismal an approach to com- 
mandinn; eminence as Washiniiton. For 




A PANORAMA OF THE EA.STERN PART OF WASHINGTON, LOOKIN(, KASTWARH FROM THE WASHINGTON 

MONUMENT— ON THE LEFT STANDS THE CITY POST-OFFICE; ON THE RIGHT, IN THE 

FOREGROUND, IS CENTER MARKET) THE LARGE WHITE BUILDING IN 

THE DISTANCE IS THE NEW UNION STATION 

From a f/iotoernth by I-eet. lyashiiielon 



Splendid city, which, aside from Ijeing the 
theater of the nation's political life, is in 
reality the only strictly residential commu- 
nity that we have. 

Thus it .seems worth while to pause in 
the mid.st of the majestic din of our clash- 
ing progress, and all the turmoil of an era 
of universal unrest, to contemplate the really 
noble spectacle that Washington presents, 
both in the city that is, and, what is more 
important, in the kindling and artistic 
vision of its future. For its destiny is to 
become a capital of capitals, the center and 
inspiration of that far-reaching spirit of 



many years she was a sort of Cinderella of 
the Swamps, waiting patiently for the fairy 
touch of development to change her into a 
(jucen city. During that period she was 
the rejected and despised of places. 

Out of the chaos that followed the Revo 
lution came the idea for a permanent seat 
of government for the confederated colonies. 
It was brought forth with the Constitution, 
was cradled in the wisdom of Washington, 
and fostered in the statesmanship of Jef- 
ferson and Hamilton. 

That there was need of a capital no one 
doubted. The Continental Congress and its 



HAY 



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THE NEW WASHINGTON 



}13 



suctTSSor, the Compress of the Confedera- 
tion, hud met in ei.i,dit towns in four differ- 
ent States. Its sessions were movable feasts, 
and it had no home of its own. 

Yet when the time came to select a cap- 
ital, a violent controversy arose that was 
not without its picturesque irnale. The 
claims of many cities were presented. The 



The ])roblem was solved by a piece of 
"practical politics" — for so we may char- 
itably term a proceeding which then and 
there established a precedent assiduously 
followed by many of our later statesmen. 

One of Alexander Hamilton's ]:)et hobbies 
was his bill for the assumption by the na- 
tional government of the debts, approxima- 




CONTINUATION OF THE PANORAMA, WITH THE NEW BUILDING OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM ON THE 

LEFT TO THE RIGHT OF THIS, LEADING UP TO THE CAPITOL, A SPLENDID PARKWAY, 

LINED WITH NOBLE STRUCTURES, IS TO BE OPENED 
UP ALONG THE MALL 

From a thotosrafh by Leet, ll'ashin^ton 



strongest candidates were Philadelpliia, then 
the center of government; Germantown; 
Havre de Grace, in Maryland; an indefinite 
place on the Potomac, and an ecjually un- 
certain spot on the Susquehanna. At one 
stage of the proceedings the Hou.se decided 
on Germantown, and at another the Senate 
fixed upon the Susquehanna site. 

This aroused the ire of the Southern legis- 
lators, and a bitter sectional strife started. 
For a time the very integrity of the Union 
was menaced. It was the first flush of the 
flame that many years later well-nigh dis- 
solved the nation. 



ting twenty millions of dollars, which had 
been incurred by the various States during 
the war for independence. Quite naturally 
the States were not all in harmony with the 
scheme. Tlie debtor States were willing to 
.•^hift their burden, but the creditor States 
were not so ready to help to bear it. 
This question, together with the site tangle, 
formed a twin cause for Congressional 
deadlock. 

Such was the situation when Jefferson 
met Hamilton on the street. Hamilton let 
loose his troubles over his bill; Jefferson, 
who advocalied U SoutJ lern capital site, told 



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MUNSEV'S MAGAZINE 




ARLINGTON, ONCE THE HOME OF GETnERAL ROBERT E. LEE, AND NOW THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING 

OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY, WHICH IS LOCATED ON A COMMANDING SITE 

ACROSS THE POTOMAC FROM WASHINGTON 

From a thotos^ath by Leet, Washinetoti 



of the difficulty of securing it. Then the 
Monticello statesman had an inspiration. 

He gave a big dinner party the next night 
at his house, and invited a number of Con- 
gressmen. After the punch and the Ma- 
deira, a deal was made by which the South- 
ern members traded their votes for the As- 
sumption Bill, in excliange for Northern 
votes for a Southern capital site. In this 
way the Potomac location was decided on. 

As a sop to Philadelphia, the cajntal 
was to remain there for ten years^until 
liSOO. After that time the nation's house- 
liold, bag and baggage, was removed to the 
area which has ever since been its home. 
Such was the designation of the ca])ital 
city — the first instance in history, as Glad- 
stone once remarked, of the establishment 
of a capital by legislative enactment. 

THE VISION OF l'eNFANT 

At this juncture there steps into the drama 
a figure which not only links that early 
epoch with our own times, but takes on an 
increasing interest as the development of 
Washington proceeds. 

That pQtomac site, around which such a 
fierce legislative conflict raged, had a jirimi- 



tive and uncultivated beauty. It was alter- 
nately thick woods, naked fields, and treach- 
erous swamps. A few decades before, the 
Algonquins had roamed it in savage isola- 
tion. To project there a city which should 
fittingly symbolize the sovereignty of the 
Aoung republic was the terrific task that 
confronted President Washington. Other 
great world capitals — Rome, London, Pari< 
— had their centuries of development, quick- 
ened by the tramp of a conquering civiliza- 
tion. Here was nothing but the wilderness 
and a new-born culture. 

It was Washington's amljition that the 
new city — which, by the common and grate- 
ful consent of his countrymen, bore his 
name — should be metropolis as well as ca[)- 
ital. After a careful survey of the situa- 
tion, he commissioned Major Peter Charles 
L'Enfant to prepare plans for the place. 
No act of his whole career of heroic and 
constructive service was, in one sense, more 
far-reaching in its effect than this choice. 
\'ou shall soon see why. 

First let us see who L'Enfant was, for 
his name will figure prominently through- 
out this narrative. He was a French civil 
engineer, who came to the United States in 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



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MUNSF.Y'S MAGAZINE 



17 77 and offered Ins sword to the Con- 
tiiR-ntal army. He was commissioned a 
c;iptain of engineers, served with distinc- 
tion, and was a major when the war ended. 
After tlie Revolution he remained in tliis 
country, employing himself in New York 
and elsewhere as engineer and architect. 
He rebuilt the old New York City Hall, 
and in Philadelphia he erected on the house 
of Robert Morris, financier of the Revolu- 



counsel of Washington, Jefferson, Hamil 
ton, and John Adams. Out of the labor and 
meditation of several months he created a 
city plan unicjue in world architecture. The 
\\'a.shington that you see to-day is its fru- 
ition, and the Washington that you will see 
to-morrow will Ije, with few amplifica- 
tions, the ultimate realization of his brilliant 
dream of long ago. 

lie i)Uinned for the national legislature i 




THE PROTliSTANT EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAIL, AS IT WILL APPEAR 

WHEN COMPLETED— THIS FINE BUILDING, WHICH WILL DOMINATE WASHINGTON 

ON THE WEST, AS THE CAPITOL DOES ON THE EAST, IS NOW UNDER 

CONSTRUCTION ON ST. ALBANS HEIGHTS 



tion, the first mansard roof ever seen in 
America. 

L'Enfant had a prophetic vision, and he 
.chared with General Washington the feeling 
that on the banks of the shining river where 
the infant democracy now nestled there 
should be erected a caj^ital of magnificent 
})roportions and distances. Although there 
were only four million people in the whole 
land, it was Washington's desire that a city 
he laid out to accommodate, in time, a ])op- 
ulation of at least eight hundred thousand. 

Then L'Enfant set to work. From Jef- 
ferson he borrowed plans of old-established 
capitals like London, Paris, Venice, Flor- 
ence, and Madrid. He had the advice and 



great building on the brow of a hill eighty- 
five feet al)0ve tlie river, where the present 
Capitol is located. From this edifice a 
l)road !Mall, or parkway, was to extend on 
a straight axis to a point not far from the 
river, which is the present site of the Wash- 
ington Monument. It was originally pro- 
]wsed to ]ilace there an equestrian figure of 
tlie first President. L'Enfant located the 
White House, which he called the Presi- 
dent's Palace, to the north of the monument, 
j)recisely where the Executive Mansion now 
.stands. His scheme involved a great square 
in front of the Capitol ; long avenues of trees 
on the Mall, many parks and fountains 
dotted about the future city, wide green 



THE NEW WASHIXGl'ON 



317 



spaces, and a scii;rc!j;ation and liarnionious ijjroupinL,' 
of pul)lic buildins^s. 

But the most distinctive feature of the ])lan was 
the arrangement of streets. The Capitol was to he 
a huge hub from which the avenues were to radiate 
like the spokes of a wheel. L'Enfant's idea was to 
obtain a reciprocity of site between points of in- 
terest. It was a vast and .splendid scliemc, and 
with various modifications it was adopted. 

As L'Enfant proceeded with his surveys and 
maps, his artistic temperament manifested itself. 
Naturally sensitive and high-strung, he brooked no 
restraint. He became unmanageable, and after a 
great deal of friction he was removed from office. 
The work was placed in the hands of iNIajor An- 
drew Ellicott, who very ably helped to develop and 
carry out the original plans. 

Now came the tragedy which almost inevitably 
seems to attach itself to large tasks of regeneration 
or construction. L'Enfant became an embittered 
and disappointed man, who haunted the halls of 
Congress with his alleged grievances. In Jiis pride 
he spurned the generous financial compensation 
offered by the government. He died a pensioner 
on the bounty of a generous American gentleman, 
and was Ijuried on his estate not far from Wash- 
ington. 

In 1909, however, his remains were reinterrcd in 
Arlington Cemetery with full military honors; and 
last May, under the auspices of the American In- 
stitute of Architects, and in the presence of a dis- 
tinguished company, a memorial was unveiled over 
them. 

To-day L'Enfant sleeps where, had he been able 
to choose, he would undoubtedly have longed to lie. 
His grave is on the front slope of the green hill that 
overlooks Washington. Behind him is the historic 
Lee mansion, outpost of our military Valhalla; at 
his feet flows the Potomac, and before him, spread 
out in panoramic splendor, is the city that he 
planned. He rests under a marble canopy on which 
is carved the original plan of Washington. 

THE STRUGC.LIXG AXD UNGAINLY YEARS 

While L'Enfant was eating out his heart in bit- 
terness and resentment, his dream of a capital city 
passed slowly from plan to practicality. A Capitol 
rose on the hill, and a White House spread out its 
shining wings on a vast green lawn. But the prog- 
ress of the city was disappointingly slow. Fevers 
of land speculation racked it ; movements to change 
the seat of government checked its progress. Its 
empty distances were still magnificent, but mudd}' 
and tiresome. 

Washington became in truth an "ugly duck- 
ling" — the butt of the joker and the caricaturist. 
When Gouverneur Morris came to Jefferson's in- 
auguration, his criticism was: 




318 



MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE 




THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WHOSE GILDED DOME VIES WITH THAT OF THE CAPITOL 
FOR EMINENCE ON CAPITOL HILL 

From a thotograth by Brcnun, Ne-w York 



" We only need here houses, cellar'^, 
kitchens, scholarly men, amiable women, 
and a few other trifles to possess a perfect 
city. In a word, this is the best city in the 
world to live in — in the future! " 

Tom Moore, the Irish poet, reflected the 
opinion of foreign visitors when he said: 

This embryo capital, where fancy sees 
Scjuares in morasses, obelisks in trees; 
Which second-sighted seers e'en now adorn 
With shrines unbuilt and heroes yet unborn. 

Things were ])retty bad, and democracy 
was in its element. Mrs. Adams, the first 
mistress of the White Hou.se, dried out her 
clothes in the East Room on wash-day. A 
tavern stood just around the corner, and 
Pennsylvania Avenue, half-way to the Cap- 
itol, was interrupted by a swamp. In 1814, 
when Ross and Cockburn captured Wa.sh- 
ington, both the Capitol and the White 
House were burned. In 1848 the founda- 
tion of the Wa.shington Monument was 
reared, but the project was soon halted for 
lack of funds. 

So, architecturally, the town langui.shed. 
L'Enfant's plan lay yellowing among the 
government archives, as neglected as his 
grave out on the Maryland hills. 



During all the tumult of the Civil W^ar, 
when the tide of heroic battle well-nigh 
rose to its front door, Washington remained 
inchoate and unformed. It was the na- 
tion's huge political camp; the battle-ground 
of the office-seeker. Its houses were ill- 
assorted ; its public buildings were scattered 
and unfinished; the mile-and-a-half stretch 
of Pennsylvania Avenue was dotted with 
unsightly structures. The Cinderella of 
capitals .seemed to have risen from the 
swamps only to be mired in the mud. 

But so noble was L'Enfant's scheme, witli 
its succession of broad vistas and graceful 
streets, that with all these handicaps Wash- 
ington presented to tlie visitor the outlines 
of a splendid, if undeveloped, beauty. Par- 
ticularly attractive was its aspect in spring 
and summer, for then, as now, one of the 
city's chief charms is in its profusion of 
magnificent trees. No other American com- 
munity is with so much verdure clad. 

It was not until well into the seventies, 
after the last possibility of a removal of the 
Federal capital had vanished, that Wash- 
ington woke from her .slumber, bestirred 
herself, and realized that being the seat of 
the national government did not in itself 
constitute civic greatness, The construction 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



319 



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MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE 




PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, THE GREAT CENTRAL THOROUGHFARE OF WASHINGTON, LOOKING 

SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE TREASURY BUILDING — ON THE RIGHT IS THE 

WASHINGTON POST-OFFICE, IN THE DISTANCE THE CAPITOL 

From a cohriehted thotoemth by Uniienoood &" Underwood, Nnv York 



of streets was pushed; small ])arks began 
to clot the city's spreading area. The Treas- 
ury Building, meanwhile, had spread its 
classic bulk alongside the White House 
grounds. In the eighties, the Washington 
Xlonument reared its immaculate shaft, to 
join with the Capitol dome in a serene and 
lofty watch over the city. The ugly duck- 
ling was molting its hideous feathers, and 
slowly becoming a bird of paradise. 



But the lindens and the elms that 
bloomed on the stately avenues could not 
hide a growing evil. Gross irregularity 
marked the development of the city. The 
new public edifices were designed as in- 
dividual entities, and with no relation to 
each other, thus spoiling L'Enfant's vistas; 
the parks were indiscriminately planted 
here and there, often to favor real-estate 
projects. In short, there was no general or 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



321 



harmonious sclinno of operations, and tlic 
dignity of the whole jjlan, as originally laid 
out, was in grievous danger of being lost. 

Then came the great awakening. It had 
its origin in two distinct sources. One was 
tlie centennial celebration of the establish- 
ment of the seat of government on the Po- 
tomac, held in 1900; the other was a 
meeting of the American Institute of 
.\rchitects held in Washington at the 
same time. In the proceedings of 
both, the key-note was the improve- 
ment of the city " in a manner and 
to an extent commensurate with the 
dignity and resources of the Ameri- 
can nation.'' 

This declaration was a big step 
toward the real national interpreta- 
tion of Washington, in the sense that 
it is the capital of all our people, who 
really share in its citizenship and in 
the pride of its achievement. 

Nor did this declaration merely 
expend itself in lofty phrase and pa- 
triotic sentiment. The concrete re- 
sult was a resolution introduced b}' 
Senator MacMillan, and later adopt- 
ed, for the appointment of a commis- 
sion of experts to formulate j^lans 



for the development of Washington. On 
this commission were Daniel H. Burnham, 
l)uilder of the Chicago World's Eair and 
other great projects; Frederick Law Olm- 
sted, Jr., the eminent landscape engineer; 
Augustus St. Gaudens, our foremost sculp- 
tor, and Charles F. McKim, the distin- 
guished architect. These men formed 
what came to be known as the Park 
Commission, and under their direc- 
tion tlie capital city has had a new 
jirth of civic beauty. 

TI]K P.A.RK COMMISSIOX I'L.AX 

^^'ith a high spirit of public serv- 
ice, these commissioners put aside 
their private and profitable work, 
spent much time studying European 
capitals, and then made the com- 
prehensive report which established 
the so-called Park Commission Plan. 
This has not only been the esthetic 
INIagna Charta which freed Wash- 
ington from the thrall of the bun- 
gler and the despoiler, l:)ut it has 
proved to be the inspiration for a 
nation-wide movement for the sys- 
tematic and artistic growth of Amer- 
ican municipalities. 




THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT, ONE OF THE SALIENT ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF THE CITY- 
GREAT MARBLE SHAFT, NOBLE IN ITS SIMPLICITY, IS FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVB 
FEET HIGH — IT WAS BEGUN IN I848 AND FINISHED IN 1884 

From a thotoerath by Lett, Washineton 



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MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE 



In framing its report, the commission re- 
vealed the true bigness of its caliber. In- 
stead of ])rei:)aring a sclieme embodying new 
and radical features- — a course which would 
douljtless have apjjealed to men of lesser 
([uality — it recommended the development 
of the city along the broad lines of L'En- 
fant's plan. At the same time, ample prob- 



us ]Mck out the Capitol as the jja^e from 
which to operate. This magnificent build- 
ing — greatest of all American architectural 
achievements, and one of the supreme struc- 
tures of the world— dominates the city like 
a majestic and Ijenign presence set on a 
hill. While St. Peter's seems to brood over 
Rome like the mellowed expression of a 




PART OF THE POTOMAC RIVER, IN THE SOUTHWESTERN QI'ARTER OF WASHINGTON, SHOWING THE 

ARMY WAR COLLEf.E, AND BEYOND IT THF, ANACOSTIA OR EASTERN BRANCH OF THE 

RIVER, ON WHICH IS THE WASHINGTON NAVY YARD 

From a tl'otoarath by !.erf. ]\'iishinston 



lems remained for original treatment in the 
increased park areas, and in the grouping 
of new statuary and buildings. 

Thus, after scouring tlie whole world of 
civic beauty, the commission found that the 
visionary Frenchman who worked with the 
forefathers of the republic had perfected a 
plan that met all the requirements of com- 
ing generations. 

In order to comprehend fully the scope 
and meaning of the Park Commission Plan, 
it will first be necessary to get .>^ome idea of 
Washington well fixed in vour mind. Let 



dark and imperialistic pa.st, the Cajiitol 
.shines with a clean and serene dignity 
which is an elo(juent embodiment of the 
spirit of modern democracy. 

The Capitol faces east and west, and 
stands on an eminence where many radial 
avenues meet. On a direct axis running 
due west from it is the Washington Monu- 
ment, a mile and a half away. Beyond the 
monument is the Potomac River. Between 
the Capitol and the monument is the tract 
known as tlie Mall, which is in the first 
stages of imjirovement. 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



323 



Directly north of the monu- 
ment is the White House. These 
three pivotal points — the Capi- 
tol, the Washington Monument, 
and the White House — are lo- 
cated to-day practically where 
L'Enfant intended them to be. 
Around them the Park Commis- 
sion Plan has been evolved in 
the form of a kite-shaped figure, 
intersected from east to west by 
the axis radiating from the Capi- 
tol, and from north to south b}- 
the line of the White House and 
the Washington Monument. It 
is proposed that the Federal 
buildings for legislative pur- 
poses shall be grouped around 
the Capitol, and the executive 
departments about the White 
House, while the scientific de- 
partments of the government 
shall face the ISIall. 

W^hile this plan has never 
been officially adopted by the 
government, it is the unwritten 
law which now governs the re- 
building of Washington. There 
have been and will be very 
slight departures from its pro- 
visions, but these are only due, 
in the main, to emergencies of 
site and condition. 

A MAGNIFICENT PARKW^AY 

The scheme for the beautifi- 
cation of the Mall presents an 
architectural grouping almost 
unrivaled in any world capital. 
If the space intended for it had 
been left in virgin soil, the task 
of the commission would have 
been easy; but it was hideous- 
ly encumbered with unsightly 
buildings. Among other disfig- 
urements, the old station of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad loomed 
up red and ugly in the vista be- 
tween the Capitol and the monu- 
ment. One of the first great re- 
sults of the commission idea was 
the removal of this obstruction, 
the bani.shment of railroad tracks 
from the Mall confines, and the 
final placing of the present splen- 
did Union Station on an ample 
site north of the Capitol, where 
its classic and truly dignified 




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MUXSEY'S MAGAZINE 




LINCOLN SQUARE, A SMALL BUT CHARMING PARK IN THE FAR EASTERN PART OF WASHINGTON, 
WITH THE EMANCIPATION MEMORIAL, BY THOMAS BALL 

From a thoto^rath by Led, Washington 



proportions fit gracefully into the archi- 
tecture of the new city. 

The development of the ^lall involves a . 
program of noble dimensions. Summed up, 
the plan is to make of it the great artistic 
and pleasure highway of the city. 

Here will Ije a stretch of undulating 
green a mile and a half long and three hun- 
dred feet wide, walled on either side by elms 
planted in formal procession four abreast. 
Bordering this verdant carpet will be roads, 
parklike in character, extending from the 
Capitol to the Washington Monument. Just 
as the Garden of the Tuileries unites the 
Louvre with the Arc de Triomphe, afford- 
ing a pleasing passageway from the center 
of Paris to the we.stcrn part of the city, so 
will this great road present a liighway from 
the banks of the Potomac to tlie mecting- 
[ilace of Congress and the legi.slative offices. 

Facing this road, with its walls of living 
green, will be rows of public buildings, 
each one with a distinct individuality, and 
vet all of the same classic type of arclii- 
tecture. Already one structure — tlie Na- 
tional Museum — is in ])lace on the north 
side of tlie Mall. On the other side, the 
two wings of the new home of the Depart- 



ment of Agriculture are completed. Art 
galleries and edifices dedicated to the arts 
will flank the museum, while buildings de- 
voted to the sciences will be on either side 
of the Department of Agriculture. Thus 
the arts and the sciences will dwell amiably 
together. 

North of the Mall, beginning at its north- 
west corner, will stand a group of three 
magnificent government buildings. First 
will be the State Department, which will 
have a great state dining-room, splendid 
halls for international conferences, and all 
the regal physical appurtenances of a court; 
the Department of Commerce and Labor; 
and the Dejiartment of Justice. 

These Iniildings will off.'^et three others 
already in ])lace just across the lawn around 
tlie \\'ashington Monument — the three be- 
ing the Corcoran Art Gallery, the home of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
and the Bureau of American Republics. 
They are all o^ white marble, and fit ad- 
mirably into the new and harmonious archi- 
tectural scheme. 

In order to achieve the full effect of the 
Mall, a mighty cliange must be wrought. 
Fortunately, this is possible, because tlie 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



326 




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government owns all the property included 
in the scheme. The old Botanical Gardens, 
at the foot of the west esjdanade of the Caj)- 
itol, will be removed, and their site will l»e 
occupied l)y Union Square, an imposin,:^ 



a mannituent view spread before him — the 
long, cool, green stretch of the Mall flanked 
by " splendid marble l;uildings, with the 
Washington ^Monument looming aloft in 
the middle of the vista, and the gleaming 




THE ROCHAMBEAU STATUE IN LAFAYETTE SQUARE. OPPOSITE THE WHITE HOUSE-THIS MONUMENT. 

DESIGNED BY IIAMAR. IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE IN WASHINGTON 

Prom a thotoe>'ith by Lect, Washington 

open space, which will have as its central Lincoln Memorial framed l)y the shining 

iV/ure Shradv's equestrian statue of Gen- river far beyond. 

eral Grant. The pedestals and foundations We now api)roach the central division of 

for the figure and its outlving ^roups are the plan, which has a universal interest be- 

•ilready iif position. When' the great chief- cause it pertains to the Washington Monu- 

tain mounts his bronze steed, he will have ment. Ever since its completion, this noble 



THE NEW WASHINGTON 



327 



and inspiring shaft has lacked adequate aj)- 
proach and surrounding. At present it rises 
abruptly from a slight elevation of lawn, 
and the result is that the onlooker really 
loses some of the sense of grandeur that so 
great a work should inspire. 

In the proposed scheme it will have a 
really splendid environment. On the cast, 
the bordering columns of elms which line 
the Mall will march on and spread them- 
selves to the left and right in extended ter- 
races forming a thick body of green. These 
groves will become small parks, command- 
ing ample views of the Capitol, the city, the 
\\'hite House, and glistening stretches of 
the Potomac. 

On the west side of the shaft there will 
be a sunken garden with a great round pool, 
and marble steps leading from the pool to 
the monument platform. The garden will 
be surrounded by elm-shaded terraces, laid 
out in formal paths, and will be adorned 
with fountains and marble temples. The 
whole effect will be cool and refreshing, and 
will give the monument, seen from this low- 
er level, an additional height of forty-five 
feet. As a result, the dignity of the monu- 
ment itself will be maintained, and it will 
become part of a beautiful picture. 

THE LINCOLN 1MEM0RLA.L 

Only one grand section of the general 
scheme remains — the Lincoln Memorial. If 
present plans are carried out, it will occupy 
the area extending west for a mile from the 
Washington Monument to the Potomac — ; 
most of this being land reclaimed from the 
river flats — and will be the worthy termina- 
tion of a tremendous program. 

The situation with regard to this memo- 
rial is still somewhat unsettled. Congress 
voted to erect a suitable monument to Lin- 
coln. Three bills were ])resented covering 
it. One provides for a national highway 
from Washington to Gettysburg; the sec- 
ond for some structure — possibly a trium- 
phal arch — to be erected near the Union 
Station; the third for the really splendid 
expression of art which is part of the Com- 
mission Plan, and w'hich fits so easily and 
naturally into the whole plan for the de- 
velopment of the city. The Park Commis- 
sion has recommended the site near the 
Potomac, which the government already 
owns, and practically the whole artistic 
world — particularly that [)art of it which 
deals with harmonious city biiihling and 
ornamentation — has indorsed it. 



It is a site which, in addition to being 
eminently practical and economic, has a 
strong sentimental appeal. Here a bronz'j 
Lincoln could sit facing the city in which 
he wrestled with the travail of a nation, 
while behind him, on the sloping green- 
sward of Arlington, sleep the host of dead 
who died that the Union might endure. 

The plan for the memorial is in keeping 
with its high purpose. It is pro])osed to 
construct a canal thirty-six hundred feet 
long and two hundred feet wide, v.ith arms 
bordered by trees, to a concourse raised to 
the height of the Washington Monument 
platform. It will be similar in treatment 
to tlie canals at Versailles and Fontaine- 
bleau, in France, and at Hampton Court, 
in England. At the head of this canal will 
be a grand driveway, which will be in a di- 
rect line W'ith the Capitol and the Wash- 
ington Monument, and will form tlie key to 
the whole park system of the cit}-. 

Crowning this concourse, vcr\- much a< 
the superb Arc de Triomphe crowns the 
Place de I'Etoile in Paris, will be the na- 
tion's tribute to the memory of Lincoln. 
The commission has suggested a great por- 
tico of Doric columns. Whatever design is 
accepted — a number of eminent architects 
have been asked to submit plan.s — a statue 
of Lincoln will be placed to the east of it. 
Surrounding the whole memorial, and fra- 
ming it with greenery, will be linden-trees, 
planted four rows deep. 

Thus, if this admirable plan is carried 
out, the monuments of the two greatest 
Americans, who achieved for their countr\- 
the richest fruits of liberty and humanit}-, 
will fittingly face each other. 

The two outlying wings of the commis- 
sion's kite-shaped plan are the White House 
on the north, with its charming gardens, 
and the area to the south, much of whicli 
must be reclaimed from the water, and on 
which a great playground for the people and 
a memorial to tlie makers of the Constitu- 
tion will be created. 

From the west of the Lincoln Memorial 
it is planned to throw a bridge across the 
Potomac to Arlington. This project has 
been contemplated for many years. It be- 
gan with the idea of making the structure 
typical of the union of North and South; 
now it is planned to make it a memorial to 
the men who fell in the Civil War. 

Nor is this all of the jilan for the future 
\\'ashington. East of the Cajiitol, in the 
square next to the Congressional Library, 



328 



MUNSEV'S MAG AZ INK 



will rise a home for tlie Supreme Court of 
tlic United States, commensurate with the 
dignity and |u)tency of its tenants Far out 
to the west, upon St. Albans Mount, the 
new Episcopal Cathedral is rearing its 
Gothic splendor. 

The Commission Plan also mvolvcs a 
lomjtrehensive park program, which will 
inchule, among other things, a connection 
Itetween Potomac and Riverside Parks, 
which skirt the river, and Rock Creek Park 
and the Zoological Gardens, with their wild 
and tangled areas of loveliness. 

Hence Wa.shington is in the process of 
a remarkable remaking. This process is in 
itself a significant precedent for every other 
city. Here is the reason why, and it is best 
>tated, i)erhaps, by Arnold W. Brunner, 
architect of the new State Department build- 
ing, and one of the best-known American 
authorities on city-planning. 

"A city plan," says Mr. Brunner, "is a 
program, a staiement of events which are to 
Ijc executed one after the other as the oppor- 
tunity offers. A city is not made; it grows, 
I'he city plan should be a scheme for that 
growth, so arranged that nothing may in- 
terfere with its systematic, orderly, and 
economical progress. The ideal program 
should be an artistic inspiration which at 
the same time gives every consideration to 
the oracticai needs of the community. Wash- 
ington is an ideal case in point; an example 
for all other American cities." 

A CITY BEAUTIFUL 

Hut Washington, even as she waits for 
the consummation of that heroic Commis- 
sion Plan, presents a spectacle of peculiar 
and distinct attractiveness. The see-things- 
c[uick sightseer rarely appreciates the beauty 
which makes her, in the opinion of many 
people, the finest city in the world in grace 
and noliility of outline and proportions. 

Washington is fast becoming a great resi- 
dential city and a social center of unique 
charm. Scores of millionaires are establisli- 
ing imposing residences on its avenues and 
circles, for in Washington they get the com- 
fort and seclusion of a city home without 
contact with the grime, sordidness, and con- 
gestion of metropolitan centers Life lacks 
the hectic unrest of the clashing places. 
The whole atmosphere of Washington is 
serene aiid restful, and in .spring and .sum- 
mer presents more tlie appearance of a vast 
country place tlian a community of three 
hundred thousand persons. 



Wa.slnngton is our only city with a real 
leisure class — and by this I do not mean 
the colored i)opulation. Usually the so- 
called leisure class of our American com- 
munities com])rises the idlers, the failures, 
and the generally uninteresting. Here, how- 
ever, you ^get a circle of culture and dis- 
tinction, recruited from the brilliant group 
of scientists that the government has assem- 
bled for its technical departments, from the 
ranks of retired army and navy officers, and 
from the diplomatic representatives of two- 
score foreign powers. Nowhere else in the 
country does society present so picturesque 
and cosmopolitan an aspect. 

Closely allied with these groups is the 
growing host of writers, students, painters, 
and sculjitors who find Washington a con- 
genial rieid for research, meditation, and 
hapjn' labor. The city is fulfilling her 
esthetic destiny. In the evidences of the 
finer arts she is adequately endowed. There 
are the fine paintings of the Corcoran col- 
lection, many historic treasures of marble, 
bronze, and oil in the public buildings, and 
a wealth of statuary- — some of it very good 
and some painfully bad — in the parks and 
squares. And a word sliould be given to 
thai .'plendid artistic triumph, which in 
itself makes a trip to W^ashington worth 
\vlii]( — the wonderful figure of "Grief," by 
St. Gardens, in Rock Creek Cemetery. 

The conduct of Washington's civic affairs 
is essentially different from that which ob- 
tains in any other American municipality 
.The city has no mayor, no council, no elec- 
tions. Authority is vested in three commis- 
sioners, named by the President and ap- 
jjroved by the Senate. Congress makes the 
appropriations and pays half the expenses 
the otlier half being raised by taxation. 

Thus Washington sits amid her gardens 
and her memorials, tlie focus of national 
sentiment, a worthy symbol of the sover- 
eignty of a great republic. Yet what she 
needs quite as much as the fine concei)tion 
of architectural harmony which I have tried 
to describe is a feeling on the part of all 
the people that she is their capital, the cen- 
ter and inspiration of their national life. 

When you go to West Point, the cradle 
of our army, and see the cadets at dress 
parade in their green amphitheater, you get 
a Ics.son in ])atriotism. So, too, in a dif- 
ferent way, with Washington. To see it is 
to l)eh()ld the realized dream of a trium- 
|)hant democracy, clad in l)eauty and power. 

You are a better American for it. 



Reproduced from MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE 
of December, igii, by courtesy of The Frank A. 
Munsey Company, New York. 

The illustration on page 320 is reproduced by 
permission of Underwood & Underwood, New 
York. 



A FRESH VISION OF "THE NEW 
WASHINGTON." 



It is characteristic of human nature 
that people do not fully realize the 
power and enchantment of the beauties 
in the midst of which they spend their 
lives. Familiarity with the charms of 
Washington has perhaps made us less 
keen in discerning and appreciating 
those charms than is the case when we 
are surveyed from the outside. 

This fresh and penetrating vision is 
brought to bear upon us by Isaac F. 
Marcosson, whose article on "The New 
Washington" is the leading feature of 
the December number of Munsey's 
Magazine. The illustrations them- 
selves, which are profusely scattered 
through the text, have been taken from 
new and unconventional angles and 
bring out picturesque effects which at 
tirst glance are surprising. 

The city is hailed as the future 
capital of capitals, the only "strictly 
residential community that we have." 
Mr. Marcosson's article abounds in 
graphic descriptions which stimulate 
our own appreciation of the city, but 
it docs more than that, ft brings 
home to the country as a whole the 
fact that this is in deed and in truth 
the capital of the nation, the common 
property of all the people, and as such 
is entitled to the nurture and devotion 
of all our countrymen. 

The picture has not been overdrawn 
and the timely circulation of this 
article will place us in a more just and 
appropriate relation with the nation at 
Urge.— Editorial frovi The Washington 
Times. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 310 473 4 



RFn>RLNTKl) 1!V I 'KKM ISSION |;V 

THR AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION 
Wa SHI. Mi Ton, D. C. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 310 473 4 



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